


Cold Noses, Warm Hearts

by gutsandglitter



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F, ODCs (original dog characters) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 21:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8863177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutsandglitter/pseuds/gutsandglitter
Summary: Or: The Veteran and the Veterinarian. Basically I decided that we needed an AU where Bernie and Serena met 101 Dalmatians-style, and this is what came of that.





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, a massive thanks to wonderwanda for being an absolute star of a beta.  
> Second, just a head's up--Bernie refers to herself as a "cripple" in this first chapter. Ordinarily I would never use the term, but I felt like it was important to do so here to establish character and Bernie's highkey self loathing/self pity. The word will not appear in any of the later chapters.

It had snowed sometime during the night.

Bernie knew this without having to open her eyes. Her right knee, still healing with the help of a dozen pins and screws, throbbed violently, which happened with an abrupt change in the weather. Keeping her eyes firmly shut, she threw an arm out from under the covers and fumbled around for the paracetamol bottle she kept on the nightstand.

After dry-swallowing a pair of pills she turned on her side and snuggled down further under her mountain of blankets. Years of bedding down on standard-issue army cots and the odd patch of sand had made her come to think of a good mattress and flannel sheets as an unnecessary luxury, but oh, how wrong she had been. Her orthopedic pillowtop and goose down duvet felt deliciously necessary that morning as the lazy light of dawn crept through the frosted windows of her bedroom.

With little effort she was able to fall back into a light doze, only to be shortly shocked out of it by the feeling of a cold, wet nose pressed up against the base of her spine.

Bernie let out a low groan. “Charlie, no,” she grumbled, shifting away from the offending snout. 

Charlie’s tail thumped against the floorboards at the sound of her own name. She yanked her head out from under the edge of the covers and let out a small whine.

“No,” Bernie repeated.

Charlie whined again.

Bernie grumbled into her pillow and turned over. The awkward movement created a bloom of pain which radiated up her leg and settled into her hip. She grit her teeth and forced a few deep breaths, trying to pull air in with her diaphragm the way her physical therapist had shown her. _In for four seconds, hold for four seconds, out for four seconds_. Eventually the pain eased enough for her to sit up in bed and swing her legs out from under the covers.

“How are you not hurting too?” she asked the irritatingly chipper German Shepherd, reaching out and scratching behind one of her ears. “You’ve got about as much metal holding you together as I do.”

Charlie whined once more and pawed at the sheets.

***

“Ellie, no,” Serena snapped, tugging the leash. “Heel.”

The spaniel puppy dutifully slowed her pace, returning to Serena’s side.

“Good girl,” Serena hummed. “Now here’s an intersection, what do we do when we come to one of these?”

The puppy gave her a skeptical glance before starting to pull ahead.

“No.”

Ellie stopped, looked up at Serena, and slowly lowered herself into a sitting position.

“There we are, good girl,” Serena said, pulling a treat from her pocket and giving it to Ellie, who all but inhaled it. “See? Look how much better things are when you do as I say.”

Serena looked both ways, checking for traffic, before tugging on the leash. “Heel.”

Ellie followed, keeping herself even with Serena’s pace as they crossed the street and entered West Holby Park. 

Serena had come here often with her old dog Digby, but hadn’t been since his passing the year before. Aside from the thick layer of snow blanketing the park grounds, everything was just as she’d remembered. It had always felt like a safe haven, the way it was nestled in a quiet corner of the otherwise busy city. It was small but still easy to get comfortably lost in, full of sleepy, meandering paths bracketed by plush evergreens and the odd bit of hedgerow. 

Serena closed her eyes and took a deep lungful of wintry air. _Peaceful_ , she thought. _Exactly what I needed_. She exhaled slowly, her warm breath creating a thick white plume which quickly dissipated in the December breeze. 

Her reverie was broken moments later when a snowball caught her square between the shoulder blades. Serena let out an undignified squawk and spun around to find the culprit, which turned out to be a very embarrassed-looking boy of about eleven. 

“Sorry ma’am, I was aiming for Derrick,” he mumbled, pointing over Serena’s shoulder.

“Way to go Roddy, my gran has better aim than you do!” Called a voice behind her, presumably Derrick’s.

Serena did not have time to find out if this assumption was true or not, because Ellie had decided to take advantage of her distraction and darted away, pulling the leash free of her owner’s grasp.

“Oh!” Serena cried as Ellie sprinted down the path ahead of her. “Stupid bloody dog!”

She took off after the runaway pup, violently swearing under her breath.

Ellie rounded a corner of the path and scampered between the legs of a very surprised-looking German Shepherd. With her sole focus being on catching her _very bad dog_ , Serena did not see the even more surprised-looking owner of the German Shepherd, whom she collided with heavily. They fell backwards into a snowdrift together, a tangled mess of limbs and leashes.

Serena landed squarely on top of the other woman, with her face pressed into her chest. With a jolt of panicked embarrassment she threw one hand on either side of the woman’s body and began levering herself up. “I’m so-” she started to say, but the apology died on her lips as she got a proper look at her.

The woman Serena had collided with was tall and lean with softly defined cheekbones pinked from the cold. Her mass of blond curls had slipped loose from her beanie, fanning across the snow and framing her handsome features. In the glimmer of morning light, the strange woman looked nothing short of angelic. . .

The woman gave a few dazed blinks as her eyes focused on Serena’s face. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She opened it again. “Hello,” she said quietly.

“Hello,” Serena replied.

They regarded each other for a moment before Serena realized she was practically straddling the poor woman and resumed pushing herself up. “I’m so, so sorry,” she said, standing up and brushing the snow off her coat. “I didn’t see you, and my dog-” she gestured over to Ellie, who was calmly sniffing the German Shepherd. “-she er, got away from me. I’m so sorry.”

The blonde blinked, still lying prone in the snowdrift. “It’s, ah, it’s okay,” she said, sitting up and wincing. “Er, would you mind helping me up?”

“Of course, of course,” Serena said, embarrassed. Where were her manners?

She offered gloved hands to her unwitting victim, who gratefully took them and pulled herself up. The poor woman winced again as her weight returned to her legs, and Serena saw her right knee buckle.

“Oh, I’ve hurt you!” she cried. It was just her luck to find such a beautiful woman, only to cause her bodily harm immediately.

“No no, it’s, it wasn’t you,” the woman said, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. “Old injury. Erm Charlie, brace.”

The German Shepherd, who had up until that moment been distracted by the over-eager Ellie, pushed past Serena and sidled up against the blonde. The dog leaned against the injured knee in what was obviously a well-practiced maneuver, and the woman rested her hand in between its ears. Only then did Serena notice the blue service vest the dog was wearing, and her heart sank. She had caused bodily harm to a beautiful woman with a disability. She was going to go to hell.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she said again, because there really wasn’t anything else to say. “How can I help?”

The woman looked up and smiled weakly. “Really, it was an accident. It’s fine. But ah, would you mind helping me to that bench over there?” She gestured to a snow-covered park bench a few meters down the path.

“Yes yes, of course,” Serena chirped, moving to the woman’s left side and offering her arm. 

The woman took it with a tight smile, and began to limp towards the bench. The service dog walked with her, continuing to lean against the injured knee.

***

Bernie wished that the snow-covered path would open up and swallow her whole. She should have been able to hoist herself up and out of the snow bank, no problem. She was an otherwise healthy and fit woman, and here she was having to rely on a stranger to help her walk a dozen steps. It was utterly mortifying, and she silently cursed her useless knee. She’d had her chest cracked open too for Christ’s sake, and that didn’t give her one bit of trouble. But her knee simply would not stop hurting.

And now this poor (gorgeous) woman was positively oozing pity over her, which made Bernie want to curl up and die. It wasn’t this woman’s fault Bernie had stubbornly refused to bring her cane with her to the park, but here she was stuttering out apology after apology, no matter how hard Bernie insisted it was fine. 

When they reached the bench, the brunette leaned over and brushed the snow from the seat before helping Bernie sit. 

“Cheers,” Bernie murmured. Charlie placed her head in her lap and was rewarded with a deep ear scratch.

The gorgeous stranger shifted from foot to foot uneasily. “Would you er, would you like me to take a look at it? I’m ah, sort of a doctor.”

Bernie glanced up at the woman through her fringe. “How can someone be ‘sort of’ a doctor? Seems like something you either are or you aren’t.”

The woman looked down. “Well, I’m a veterinarian, but-”

Bernie coughed out a surprised laugh. 

“There is an MD after my name,” the woman said with a feigned indignance, though her eyes twinkled with mirth.

“No, yes, yes of course, sorry. Just wasn’t expecting that answer,” Bernie said, tamping down her giggles. “Speaking of your name, I didn’t actually catch it.”

“Serena,” the brunette answered, giving a smile that made Bernie’s stomach flip and offering her gloved hand once more.

“Bernie,”she replied, taking the proffered hand and shaking it. “Thanks for the help, I appreciate it. I’ll be fine now,” she added, trying to give Serena the out she probably wanted. She’d done her good deed for the day, no need for her to hang around and watch a pathetic cripple try and get her bearings.

To her surprise, Serena simply dusted more snow off the bench and sat beside her. She fixed her own dog’s leash to the arm of the bench, then turned back to Bernie. “Are you sure you don’t need medical attention?” she asked. 

Bernie smirked at this, and Serena rolled her eyes.

“Proper medical attention that is, though I assure you I am fairly capable when it comes to human maladies. My friend Ric is a people doctor, and he owes me a favor so I’m sure I could have him here in twenty or so.”

Bernie smiled and shook her head. “Really, I’m fine. Though I must tell you, describing someone as a ‘people doctor’ does not inspire much confidence.” 

Serena smiled and looked down at her hands. “No, I suppose it doesn’t.”

Satisfied that her master was out of harm’s way, Charlie chose that moment to move over and investigate Serena.

“Hello,” Serena cooed. She looked up at Bernie. “Can I pet her or-”

“Of course. She’s not a proper service dog actually, more a companion dog who helps out a bit.” 

Bernie was always careful to avoid using the term “Psychiatric Assistance Dog.” Too much of a stigma, and besides, it was no one else’s business. All anyone else needed to know was that Charlie was allowed to go anywhere Bernie was.

“Her name’s Charlotte, Charlie for short.”

“Pleasure to meet you Charlie,” Serena said, extending her hand to the dog.

Charlie sniffed the hand for a moment before bowing her head in a not-so-subtle suggestion for Serena to scratch her ears, which she did. 

“How long have you had her?” Serena asked.

Bernie brushed her fringe away from her face. She knew she should just lie for the sake of simplicity. She was never going to see this woman again, what did it matter? But Serena had such kind eyes and she seemed like she wanted to chat, so Bernie found herself telling the truth.

“Officially just three months, but we’ve been together about four years. She was my K-9 unit when I was stationed in Kandahar.”

“Goodness, is she one of those dogs who’s trained to sniff out the IEDs?” Serena asked.

Bernie winced. “Er, sort of. But that’s more long-range detection, she was always better with short-range. Pressure plates and small explosives mostly. She’s absolutely brilliant in the field though, scans it like Bobby Fischer looking for his next move.” She smiled at the memory, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Regardless of their present situation, she and Charlie had been very, very good at their jobs.

Serena smiled broadly and God, what a smile. 

Bernie knew she could very easily fall for a woman with a smile like that, though she was positive she was a few decades too late on that one. She couldn’t see a wedding ring because of the gloves, but she was sure it was there. A woman that beautiful and warm was undoubtedly married. And straight, for that matter. But Bernie could still enjoy Serena’s smile while it was directed at her. 

Serena turned back to Charlie, who seemed to be just as smitten with the brunette veterinarian as Bernie was, and planted a tiny kiss on her nose.

“I know I say this to every dog I meet, but you are a very, very good dog.”

Charlie licked her chin in thanks, which made both women chuckle. 

“You don’t know the half of it actually,” Bernie said, feeling slightly emboldened. “She saved my life. We were out on patrol when our truck hit an IED, she pulled me out of the wreck by the back of my flak jacket-”

Bernie paused because Serena’s eyes had grown wide and her jaw had dropped. _Shit_ , Bernie thought. She had overshared. This woman was just trying to have a quiet walk in the park with her dog, and that had now been buggered all to hell because Bernie couldn’t keep her mouth shut. No one wanted to hear a sad old vet tell war stories.

“I’m so sorry, you don’t want to hear any of--”

“Bernie is short for Berenice, isn’t it?”

Bernie’s eyebrows shot up into her fringe. Not exactly the reaction she was expecting. “Er, yeah?” 

“You’re Major Berenice Griselda Wolfe.”

Now it was Bernie’s turn to look shocked. “How did you know that?”

Serena glanced at Charlie, then back at Bernie. “I read about it in the newspaper,” she said. “Er, some of my patients’ owners, they like to send me stories about animals, usually warm and fuzzy stuff. Someone sent me the article about you a few months ago, I hung it up on the corkboard in my office. I--there was no picture, I had no idea it was you.”

Bernie didn’t know what to say to this. What were the odds?

“I er, wow. Wow. Yeah,” she said, completely at a loss for words. After a moment she added, “Not sure I would call it a warm and fuzzy story though.”

Serena chuckled. “Maybe not warm and fuzzy, but at least it had a happy ending. I mean, because of her you’re here.” 

It was probably just the cold, but Bernie could almost swear the other woman blushed.

“Here as in home, that is. Holby. England,”Serena clarified quickly. “And as in, you know...” 

“Alive?” Bernie said dryly.

This time the woman definitely blushed, and not from the cold.

“Sorry. Open mouth, insert foot.”

Bernie snickered. “No, it’s fine. It’s true.”

Serena smiled and looked down at Charlie. “She was shot too, wasn’t she? Guarding you?”

Bernie nodded and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ears. “Yeah, twice in the hip. They had to fly her to Cornell for the surgeries.”

Serena hummed. “Good choice They probably had Flanders on the soft tissue repair.”

Bernie nodded absently. She had no clue who had done the surgery, just that they had done a good job. 

Serena looked up at her and smiled shyly. “I don’t suppose you’d let me buy you a cup of tea? As ah, an apology for earlier.”

Bernie wanted to say yes very badly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually wanted to continue a conversation with someone, as of late she had made turning down invitations into an art form. But she wanted to keep talking to Serena, to find out more about her and to (hopefully) see that smile again.

But…

Serena had the news clipping up on her corkboard. She knew all about Major Berenice Griselda Wolfe, decorated war hero. She didn’t know Bernie Wolfe, average citizen and otherwise directionless lump. Bernie didn’t want to pop the bubble of innocence or reveal the woman behind the curtain. It would just lead to nothing but disappointment.

And if Bernie were completely honest with herself, she liked knowing that a version of her former self still existed somewhere, even if it was just in the mind of a pretty veterinarian from Holby. 

“No, thank you,” she said, unable to make eye contact. “I should be getting home. Go and ice my knee.”

“Oh, right,” Serena said, obviously disappointed. “Of course, I won’t keep you.”

Both women stood, and Bernie was relieved to see that her knee was able to bear weight again. 

“Right, um.”

“Right.”

“It was very nice meeting you,” Serena said, giving Bernie a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“You too,” Bernie replied.

They stood looking at each other for a few more moments before Serena finally turned away.

“Heel, Ellie,” she commanded, and for once the puppy obeyed.

Bernie felt a pang in her stomach as she watched as the pair began to walk away. Without thinking, she called out.

“Serena?”

Serena turned and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Bernie looked down at the ground, twisting Charlie’s leash through her fingers. “Charlie and I come out here every day, usually about this time. Maybe we’ll see you again?”

She glanced up hopefully at Serena through her fringe. 

Serena beamed. “Yes, I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for this fic I ended up doing a massive amount of research on how British armed forces use K-9 units in the field, but I am very much an American civilian so please let me know if I make any errors on that front. In this universe, Bernie and Charlie served in the First Military Working Dog Regiment. Bernie was a Major in charge of an Advance Search Team, and Charlie was a High Assurance Search Dog. 
> 
> Typically Psychiatric Assistance Dogs are trained and assigned by an agency, but they do make exceptions and I figure Charlie would be a good exception.


	2. Walk to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took exactly six days for Serena and Bernie to bump into each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my fab beta wonderwanda!

It took exactly six days for Serena and Bernie to bump into each other again.

Not that Serena was counting. And the fact that she was putting a little more time and effort into her makeup before her morning walks was a complete coincidence, regardless of what Jason believed.

“But you never used to look nice on your morning walks,” he said. “Two weeks ago you were wearing sweatpants and trainers!”

Serena thoroughly denied these ridiculous accusations, and by day four she had all but given up on ever seeing the Major again. And even if she did, what would come of it? She’d already been turned down by the woman, who was clearly not interested.

Serena really couldn’t blame her. Poor Bernie must have thought she was a stalker or something, what with her prattling on about the newspaper article. She shouldn’t have said anything about it, should have just kept the knowledge to herself.

Still, it felt quite nice to have a schoolgirl crush again. Between Robbie and that mess with the girl in Stepney, her post-divorce love life had been bleak. Having a pretty blonde soldier to daydream about felt like a nice change of pace.

On the sixth morning, Bernie didn’t even cross her mind. Sometime during the night Ellie had an accident on Serena’s favorite rug, the one she had brought back from her trip to Istanbul, so Serena’s mood was particularly foul. She’d jammed her fur hat on and left the house without a touch of makeup, muttering to herself and to Ellie the entire way to the park.

“I’m not entirely unsympathetic,” she said as they passed under the park’s wrought iron archway. Ellie was very obediently heeling, though Serena took no notice of this fact. “You could have woken me up and I would have been happy to...well alright I might have grumbled a bit depending on what time it was, but I can assure you we would have both been better off in the long run.”

Her monologue was broken as Ellie started to bark, her tail wagging furiously.

“Ellie!”

Serena glanced around to see what had gotten the pup so excited and stopped short. Bernie was standing at the edge of the frozen lawn, looking in the other direction. She wound up her body in a well-practiced move and threw a tennis ball across the field, way into the tree line. Charlie took off after it and Ellie made to as well before running out of leash. She gave Serena petulant look and let out a small yip, wagging her small stump of a tail extra hard as if trying to make some sort of point.

Bernie turned around then, looking for the source of the noise. She grinned when she saw Serena and immediately beckoned her over. If Serena had a tail, it would have been wagging too.

“Hello you,” Bernie said as she approached.

“Hello,” Serena replied, fighting the urge to blush. “Nice to run into you without, you know, actually running into you.”

She had of course rehearsed this line in advance, but it didn’t matter because it made Bernie laugh. Her laugh was bizarre, but Serena found it eminently endearing.

Charlie returned a moment later, panting heavily around the tennis ball clumped between her jaws. Bernie took it from her and threw it straight back into the treeline once more. She had removed her right glove in order to get a better grip on the ball, which gave Serena the chance to appreciate her long, undoubtedly deft fingers.

“Quite an arm you’ve got there,” Serena remarked. _Quite an everything you’ve got there_ , her traitorous mind added.

Bernie gave her a shy smile. “Thanks. I played softball while I was at Uni.”

“Ah, that explains it. I was never much good at sport, always picked last and whatnot. Though there was a dance class I was quite good at.” She was careful not to mention the word ‘pole,’

“Oh, like ballroom dancing?”

“Er, yeah,” Serena lied. “Something like that.”

“Well you’ve got me there. Grace was never exactly my thing, even before the, erm,” Bernie gestured to her right knee, which was sporting a slim black brace over her trousers.

Serena smiled and nodded. Both women turned to watch Charlie as she loped back through the snow. She dropped the ball at Bernie’s feet and Ellie lunged for it, but her jaw was too small to get a proper hold on it.

“That’s not yours,” Serena scolded, scooping the puppy up in her arms. Ellie wriggled for a moment before giving up and settling back into Serena’s chest.

“May I?” Bernie asked, extending her hand.

“Of course. Not that she deserves it though, because she is a very bad dog.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true,” Bernie cooed as Ellie licked her fingers.

She took a step forward and bent so that she was at the pup’s eye-level, and in doing so gave Serena a whiff of her shampoo. It was something soft and earthy but not floral, just a touch too soft to be considered masculine. From this angle Serena could see the soft curve of her neck just before it turned into shoulder and disappeared beneath the collar of her coat. On her right side there was a long, half-healed surgical scar which stopped just shy of the base of her throat. Christ, how badly had she been injured in the accident?

When Bernie glanced up Serena tried to pretend like she hadn’t just been staring.

“How long have you had her?”

“Three weeks. One of my patients had a litter and her owners were able to find a home for everyone but her. It happens all the time and normally I don’t bat an eyelash, but something about this one just shattered my resolve to bits.” Serena smiled, adjusting her arms so she could pat Ellie’s flank.

“I can’t blame you, only someone with a heart of stone could refuse a face like that,” Bernie said, looking up at Serena and then down at the ground quickly. She straightened up and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Neither woman spoke. The wind picked up slightly and ruffled the fur on Serena’s hat. A few freeze-blackened leaves ghosted over their feet, stubborn little buggers who had stuck about much longer than their golden autumn brethren. Somewhere in the distance a car alarm started screeching.

Bernie cleared her throat. “Right. Erm, you were probably on your way out weren’t you? I don’t want to keep you from anything.” Her gaze was still trained at the ground, which Serena found curious.

“No, we actually just got here. Fancy taking a turn around the grounds with us?”

The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. _Idiot! She’s already turned you down, take a hint!_

Bernie looked up at her through her fringe. “That sounds quite nice, actually.”

_Oh._

“Right, okay. Right,” Serena stammered. She placed Ellie back on the ground, forgetting to give her the heel command.

Bernie clicked Charlie’s leash back onto her collar and gestured to Serena. “Lead the way.”

It was awkward at first. Ellie kept pulling on her leash and trying to sniff at Charlie, who was blessedly patient with her and only growled once. Bernie’s brace hampered her movements and so Serena had to force herself to slow from her usual brisk clip. The conversation was initially stilted too as both women realized that they were still virtual strangers to one another.

But then they came across a pair of boys kicking a football back and forth (Serena thought they might have been the boys who had hit her with the snowball six days prior, but she couldn’t be sure). Bernie smiled and began to reminisce about a group of boys who would play football near the base in Kandahar. She had always shared the candies from her care packages with them (the Wine Gums and Pick & Mix that is; she kept the Milky Bars for herself), and in return they endearingly (yet inexplicably) called her ousai, which apparently meant rabbit in Pashto. They always giggled when they said it, leading Bernie to believe it was some sort of inside joke, but she never did get around to finding out the story behind it.

This led to Serena telling her about Jason, how he had come to stay with her and had recently started working as a receptionist in her practice. He was getting on well with Morven the lab tech, which was wonderful but for some reason meant that they had both become much more comfortable teasing Serena at the office.

Bernie turned out to be an exceptionally good listener, and Serena soon found herself talking about the unpleasant side of their arrangement -- the fights, the tantrums, the meticulous schedules, the struggle to keep him safe and comfortable while still allowing him to build his own life and challenge himself.

Bernie did not offer platitudes or advice, something Serena had come to expect whenever she brought up Jason to someone new. She simply listened, humming her assent in some places and asking the occasional question for clarification. They took two turns around the park without having to say anything about it, it just happened naturally.

By the time they reached the park gates for the second time, even Ellie and Charlie were walking in comfortable tandem.

Serena chanced a glance at her watch and grimaced. “I should be getting back, it’s about time for me to make an appearance at the clinic.”

Bernie looked at her own watch. “You don’t have to be in until 11?”

Serena grinned. “Perks of being the boss. My minions of course have to be in at eight o'clock sharp.”

Bernie honked at this. “Well, I won’t keep you from your minions.”

“Fair enough. This was lovely though,” she said, aiming for a balance of earnestness and nonchalance.

Bernie raked a hand through her messy curls. “It was. Er,” she paused and looked away a moment. Taking a tiny breath, as if steeling herself, she turned her eyes back to Serena. “Perhaps this could be a sort of regular thing? Since we both seem to be here around the same time. Just a casual, friendly thing, yeah?”

Serena’s heart sank at the word ‘friendly.’ The boundaries had been well and truly set then. But still, she enjoyed the blonde’s company, and she was willing to take it in any capacity she could get it.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

Serena went about the rest of her morning in a warm daze, replaying their conversation in her head and thinking of witty comebacks she should have used at the time.

When she waltzed into the clinic, humming something she’d heard on the radio, Jason glanced up at her from over the top of his computer screen.

“See, that’s what you normally look like on your walks -- bags under your eyes, no makeup, and with that stupid hat on. Glad to see things are back to normal. Also you’re twenty-seven minutes late.”


	3. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena reveals something surprising to Bernie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to my beta wonderwanda!

Bernie couldn’t really give any explanation as to why she extended the invitation to Serena. Well, she could; she was lonely, Serena had kind eyes, and Charlie had taken a liking to her. Though none of those things had really crossed her mind when she asked. All she was thinking about was how good it felt to be with Serena, to talk to her and walk with her like people did.

Maybe that was it. During their walk Bernie had felt like a person, a real and proper human being, something she hadn’t felt in months. Despite knowing all about her accident, despite knowing all about Major Berenice Griselda Wolfe and all that the identity entailed, Serena hadn’t treated her any differently. When Bernie had shared the story about the boys in Kandahar Serena had simply laughed and started talking about her nephew, just trading stories as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She hadn’t said anything about Bernie’s slowed pace or given a pitying look when the knee brace was mentioned. She had just simply walked on Bernie’s left side, leaving Charlie the right in case she needed extra support.

For the past several months Bernie had just been living day to day. Wake up, walk Charlie, watch crap telly, take a nap, make dinner, go to bed. Go to physical therapy every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. See her psychologist every Friday after physical therapy. 

But now she wanted to make future plans with someone, someone who would actually hold her to those plans. Bernie could see herself walking with Serena every morning. She could see them talking, laughing, creating inside jokes. She could see them grabbing a cup of coffee or tea on particularly cold days, snagging a bistro table in the corner and splitting a half-stale croissant. Could see herself kissing Serena in the middle of the park as snow fell all around them...

But no, she knew that last image would not come to pass. This was a budding friendship, nothing more. 

Still, that could be enough. It would be enough. 

The next morning she woke before Charlie, which was a rare occurrence. She padded into the kitchen in her socked feet, turning up the thermostat before putting the coffee on. While the machine coughed and spluttered she did her PT stretches on the cold linoleum. Most of them were yoga-inspired, and while she had never had any interest in yoga before the accident she found that she quite liked doing the stretches in the morning as the sun rose. Her knee throbbed gently, not unbearably, as she stretched, though her joints made audible cracking sounds with each new position, a reminder that she was not as young as she had once been.

She left the house shortly afterwards with Charlie’s leash in one hand and a travel mug of coffee in the other. She had considered bringing a cup for Serena too, but that seemed like a bit much. Besides, she didn’t know how Serena liked her coffee, so she would have had to bring sugar packets and a container of creamer in case she didn’t drink it black. Best to just leave it.

Her neighbor Jeremy was sitting on his stoop, and she waved to him as she passed.

“Good morning, Jeremy.”

“Morning, Major,” he mumbled, almost too quiet for her to hear. 

Jeremy was ex-military too, and always insisted upon calling her Major. While Bernie’s body bore her scars from the war, his mind bore his. He suffered from horrible night terrors and flashbacks, and his wife had recently left him as a result of it. 

Seeing Jeremy always reminded Bernie of how lucky she was. She might have had an ugly scar bisecting her chest and enough metal in her knee to build a Fiat 500, but it still could have been much worse.

By the time she and Charlie arrived Serena was already waiting by the entrance to the park, wearing her ridiculous fur hat that Bernie found completely adorable. 

“Morning!” Serena chirped. Ellie yipped and wagged her tail.

“Morning you two,” Bernie said with a smile. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Serena huffed a sigh, “ though I ran into my wretched ex-husband last night. Went to the regular chippy to pick up dinner and he was there with his child bride, which was enough to put me off my appetite for the next week.”

Hearing this made Bernie a bit queasy herself. Having an ex-husband was one of the ultimate signs of heterosexuality, not that Bernie had been holding out much hope on that front. Still, it made her angry to think that there was someone out there who had gotten the chance to be with this amazing woman and had thrown it away. Stupid pillock. 

“Christ yeah, I can imagine.”

Serena quirked an eyebrow. “Have you ever been married?”

Bernie shook her head. “Nope. Married to the job and all that.”

Not that she hadn’t wanted to. She had proposed to Alex twice, only to be refused both times. Alex had said if she were to ever get married it would be to a civilian, someone she could come home to and have a family with. The irony of course being that Bernie was now a civilian and Alex was now engaged to another woman from their regiment. 

“Pity. If you had I could have inducted you into the Embittered Ex-Wives Club. We have jackets,” Serena said with a smirk.

Bernie laughed. “Damn, and I’ve been in the market for a new jacket too!”

Serena talked more about Edward as they walked. Apparently he had cheated on her multiple times (stupid, stupid, dead-if-Bernie-ever-saw-him pillock) and she had finally divorced him two years prior.

“Good thing, too,” Serena said with a sigh. “I can’t imagine what he would have been like with Jason. Actually I can imagine, which makes me even more relieved that he’s out of the picture.”

Bernie knew this was where she should give Serena a reassuring pat on the shoulder or arm, but she had never been a particularly touchy-feely person so she settled for a sympathetic nod and a hum. She drained the last dregs of her coffee and tried to think of something to say. It had been a long time since she’d just been friends with a woman, and she was feeling very much out of practice.

“Er, so is there anyone else in the picture now?” she asked. That was the kind of question just-friends asked each other, right?

Serena snorted. “Hardly. And after a disastrous affair with a woman up in Stepney I’m starting to believe that might be a good thing. Dating on this side of fifty is a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?”

“Yeah it-,” Bernie did a double-take. “Hang on, did you say woman?”

Serena nodded. “Yes.”

“So you’re, er, bisexual?”

Serena nodded and slowed to a stop. “That’s not...you don’t have a problem with that, do you?” she asked, with an uncharacteristic uncertainty in her voice.

“No!” Bernie exclaimed. “No, not at all. I mean, I’m a, er…” she trailed off, shrugging and pointing to herself.

“Of the Sapphic persuasion?” Serena supplied, an amused smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

“Er, yeah. Yeah. A lesbian. So ah, no problem. Just, you know, surprise.” Bernie was still struggling to form words, let alone sentences. 

Serena quirked a smile. “Alright then.” She started to walk again, and Bernie followed. 

They walked in content silence for a minute before Serena spoke again.

“I think Charlie is a good influence on Ellie,” she said, gesturing down at the pup, who was heeling very obediently. 

Bernie weighed her words for a moment before answering. “I think you’re just a good trainer.”

Serena beamed, causing Bernie’s stomach to flip. “Well I used to think I was, but she’s certainly been a challenge.”

As if on cue Ellie tried to dart after a nearby squirrel, forgetting about her very short leash. Serena tugged her back and rolled her eyes. 

“Fortunately in my profession I get examples of how much worse it could be. Just yesterday I had to do surgery on a husky who had eaten about a kilo of mattress memory foam!”

She then launched into the story of the procedure, and they fell back into their easy rapport. But there was a palpable shift in the energy between them, the familiar and thrilling hum that crackles to life the moment two people begin to think _what if?_

This time they did three laps around the park before Serena regretfully had to leave for work. She gave Bernie’s shoulder a friendly squeeze before they parted, an innocent gesture that would occupy Bernie’s thoughts for the rest of the day.

She popped into the shops on her way home, deciding to actually make herself a proper dinner for once instead of relying on some microwavable monstrosity. She wandered through the aisles in a happy haze, for once oblivious to the awkward glances she and Charlie received. 

As she was bagging a half-dozen irresistible satsumas a small boy ran up to her with a huge grin on his face. “Can I pet your dog?” he asked breathlessly.

“Ben!” his embarrassed-looking mother cried from halfway down the aisle. 

Bernie smiled to the mother. “It’s okay,” she reassured her.

With the brace on she couldn’t properly kneel, so she bent at the waist and placed her hands on her thighs. “Usually when you see a dog with a blue vest like this it means you can’t pet them because they’re working, but Charlie’s worked hard today and I think she’s earned a petting break. Go ahead.”

The boy nodded and began patting Charlie, who obediently sat and gave his chin a gentle lick.

“What does she do for work?” he asked.

“I’ve a bad knee, she helps me get around.”

“That’s a good job for a dog,” Ben said solemnly. “Does she get paid in people money for it?”

Bernie laughed at that. “No, just in extra treats and ear-scratches, which are kind of like dog money.”

Ben’s mother, who had been awkwardly standing off to the side and fidgeting during this exchange stepped forward. “Erm, Ben, I think that’s enough. We don’t want to be too much of a bother to them,” she said, making an uncomfortable face. 

Ben nodded. “And Charlie probably needs to get back to work.”

As his mother steered him back down the aisle, Ben looked over his shoulder. “Bye Charlie!” he called. “Bye Charlie’s mum!”

Bernie laughed again and Charlie thumped her tail on the ground. 

On the way to the register Bernie impulsively grabbed a bouquet of flowers from a display and added them to her basket. Her little house was terribly drab, and it felt overdue for a good sprucing up.


	4. X's and Ohs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A text message and a surprise visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my beta wonderwanda I trust.

Days turned into weeks, and acquaintances turned into friends. Bernie and Serena’s morning walks became a staple, and at times it felt as if their other daily activities were just a way to pass time in between walks.

Bernie told Serena more about her time in Afghanistan. She told her about the people she saved, the people she didn't, about the sunsets over the valley and the way a sandstorm could destroy an engine. She told her about how much she missed hearing the call to prayer, and told her how angry it made her to see so many brilliant young Afghani women being held back from reaching their full potential. Serena learned to read Bernie, who was incredibly closed off by nature. She wrung her hands when she was nervous and worried that Serena was going to judge her for what she was about to say; she spoke freely and fully about others, lauding praise where it was due, but when it came to talking about herself and her achievements her speech became stilted and peppered with _erm_ s and _ah_ s. Touching did not come naturally to her, but she did not shy away from Serena’s reflexive shoulder pats and arm squeezes, she even seemed to like them after a while.

In return, Serena told Bernie about her work and her family. She talked about Adrienne, the horrors of her illness and the guilt and shame Serena still bore because of it. She told her more anecdotes about Jason, some funny and some sad. She talked about the clinic, about Morven and Raf and Fletch, about how her work had saved her during her disastrous divorce. Serena even told her the story of the time Edward had come home blind drunk and had taken a swing at her, only to have Digby bite him hard enough to warrant a trip to the hospital to receive eight stitches.

Bernie and Serena met up almost every day, with the only exceptions being days when Serena got called in early for an emergency.

One such call came in early February. It was Fletch, saying that Mrs Jenkins’ cat had eaten one of the children’s socks sometime during the night and would require surgery.

“Can't Raf do it?” Serena grumbled, pressing her face into the pillow.

“He's getting the kids off to school today, won't be able to make it back here for a few hours,” Fletch answered apologetically.

“Alright, alright. Get him prepped, I'll be there in a mo’.”

With eyes still hazy from sleep she tapped out a text to Bernie.

“Can't meet you today, I'm about to be up to my elbows in a cat’s upper intestine. Will see you tomorrow. x”

The message had already been sent by the time she realized her mistake. While she always signed off texts to Jason with a kiss, she had very intentionally never done it with any to Bernie. As of late she'd been actively trying (and failing) to not think about kisses in relation to the beautiful blond Major. Bernie wasn't attracted to her, she'd made that clear when she'd turned down the first invite to coffee, and Serena had to respect that.

Maybe Bernie wouldn't read anything into it. Or maybe she would think it was a typo. The x was near the space button, very easy to hit by mistake.

Serena told herself this, but still couldn't help the sinking feeling she got when Bernie didn't respond to the message.

Fortunately the sock removal required all of her attention, so Serena was able to quickly forget all about the blasted x. It took nearly three hours to remove the tiny bobby sock from Pippin’s large intestine, so by the time Serena emerged from surgery she was tired, hungry, and wishing it was more socially acceptable to start drinking wine before noon.

She came into the waiting room still clad in her scrubs and cap, fully intending on telling Mrs. Jenkins that the surgery was a success, but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she stepped through the double doors. 

Bernie was leaning against the reception counter chatting with Jason, holding a coffee and a bag with the Pulses logo on it. She looked up when she heard the doors open and gave a shy smile, which made Serena’s stomach flip several times in quick succession. Charlie, who was lying by Bernie’s feet, thumped her tail against the floor at the sight of Serena.

Serena wasn't sure which surprised her more: Bernie’s presence or her own physical reaction to Bernie’s presence. The tension she had been carrying in her jaw and neck melted away as a warm flush rose to her cheeks; and if she were very, very honest with herself, she would admit to feeling a definite pang of arousal deep within her core. 

“Mrs Jenkins, the surgery was a success,” she finally said, struggling to tear her eyes away from Bernie. “Fletch is with Pippin, you can go back and see him now.” 

A relieved Mrs. Jenkins hurried past her into the exam room, leaving just Serena and Bernie in the waiting area..

Bernie took a tentative step forward and held out her Pulses purchases. “I thought you might need this. I'm afraid the coffee’s gone a bit cold, I misjudged the time.”

Serena took the proffered items with a grin that threatened to split her face in two. “You're an absolute angel,” she said, taking a deep swig of coffee. “How long have you been waiting here?”

A look of uncertainty crossed Bernie’s face. “Er, not long.”

“She's been here for fifty-three minutes,” Jason piped up.

Bernie flushed scarlet and looked down at the ground.

“We were just talking about World’s Strongest Man,” Jason continued. “Bernie’s never seen it, but she was in the army and a lot of their training exercises are similar to the events. She can deadlift quite a lot for a woman of her age.”

Ordinarily Serena would have chided Jason for bringing up a woman’s age, but she was too busy reeling from this new information. Bernie had brought her coffee, and waited fifty-three minutes in order to be able to give it to her herself? She could have easily left it at the reception desk with a note. What on earth was Serena supposed to make of that? Was she supposed to make anything of it? 

“Well I ah, I'm glad to see you two getting along,” she said finally.

Bernie smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Yes, it was nice to finally meet Jason. You've spoken so much about him.”

“I'm glad to meet you too. I like you much better than the last woman Auntie Serena dated.”

Serena nearly dropped her breakfast. “Jason, we’re not, we’re not dating,” she said quickly. 

She looked over at Bernie for confirmation. The blonde refused to meet her eye, instead choosing to fix an intense gaze at the floor while the tips of her ears pinked. She looked...crestfallen, if Serena had to put a word to it.

 _Oh._

_Oh no._

“Right, erm, I should get going,” Bernie said, still firmly committed to avoiding eye contact. “I'm sure you've got more patients to tend to, so I'll get out of your hair. C’mon Charlie,” she said, giving a sharp tug on the leash. 

“Goodbye Bernie!” Jason called.

Bernie paused for a moment and gave him a sad smile over her shoulder. “Goodbye, Jason. It was very nice meeting you.” She then resumed her quick retreat, leaving a stupefied Serena in her wake.

Serena didn't know what to do or say. She wanted to write it off and say she was just reading too much into things, but that was very clearly disappointment on Bernie’s face, and it had very clearly only come when Serena had said they weren't dating.

Which they weren't. They were just friends. Friends who saw each other every day. And texted each other x’s at the end of their messages. And surprised each other with coffee and pastries at work...

_Bugger._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cat eating a sock is a nod to one of my favorite YA series, and if you recognize the reference you are now my new best friend.


	5. The Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting two chapters today, for reasons that will soon become apparent.
> 
> Major thanks to my beta wonderwanda for slapping my hand every time I reach into the adverb jar. 
> 
> Note: This chapter contains some violence that is canon-parallel, but may still be upsetting for some. If you need a spoilery content warning, please scroll down to the end notes.

Stupid. 

Stupid.

_Stupid._

Bernie had blown it. Really, well and truly, spectacularly blown it. 

She had tried to be satisfied with just being friends with Serena. She had, because Serena really was a wonderful friend. She was kind and warm and witty, and she supported Bernie in a way no one else ever had before.

The problem, of course, was that she was also devastatingly sexy. 

Bernie had been attracted to her from the start, but instead of waning (like she had hoped), the attraction had only grown stronger over time. More often than she’d like to admit, she’d completely lose track of what Serena was saying because she was too busy staring at her mouth. Bernie loved the way it pursed on hard consonants, the way it curled around soft vowels. 

And Christ, the way her tongue darted out to wet her lips! The first time she’d done that Bernie had to physically restrain herself from dropping to her knees and taking her right then and there. 

Bernie liked Serena. Worse still, she might have...more than liked her. Not only could she imagine nestling her head between Serena’s thighs and staying there forever, she could also imagine herself falling asleep in Serena’s (clothed) embrace. She could imagine them making dinner together, going to craft fairs together, deciding to paint their kitchen together and ending up getting more paint on themselves than on the walls. 

She had imagined all of this as well as a thousand cliches, but the worst thing she had imagined was Serena wanting her too. She had let herself think _maybe_ , had watched Serena’s eyes and thought she’d seen lust in them. Then Serena had sent that text with the x at the end and it had sparked a tiny flicker of hope in Bernie’s heart. 

She had gotten the coffee and pastry (pain au chocolat, Serena’s go-to order when she knew she was in for a long day) and spent several minutes sitting in her car outside the clinic rehearsing what she would say. _“Strong and hot, just like you. I mean, just like you like it,”_ she would have said, pretending to cover her fake slip.Then, if she was feeling brave, she would have added a wink. (With her right eye of course, because when she had practiced winking in the mirror her left eye had looked a bit wonky.) 

But she’d showed up too early and ended up meeting Jason, who was a darling young man but could talk more than anyone Bernie had ever met, and then Serena had come out of surgery looking flushed and tired but still so beautiful and said we’re not dating with what felt like an air of finality and that was that. 

Bernie did her breathing exercises on the car ride home. In for four, hold for four, out for four. It was her only defense against the deluge of cruel words and barbs that threatened to overtake her internal monologue. 

_Pathetic, spineless coward._

_You delusional arsehole._

_She was just a kind woman looking for a friend, and you had to go and ruin that for her._

She pulled into the drive and trudged up the walk, giving a distracted wave to Jeremy next door. Jeremy did not wave back.

She spent the rest of the day churning, biting the skin from the tips of her fingers and flipping mindlessly through tv channels.

At a quarter after eight, she finally tapped out a text message to Serena.

_**won’t be able to meet u tomorrow. early pt appt.** _

Serena’s reply was almost instantaneous.

_**That’s alright. Will I see you day after?** _

Bernie scrubbed a hand down her face. Charlie, who had been laying on the floor by her feet, chose that moment to sit up and rest her head on Bernie’s knee. 

“I’ve messed up girl. I’ve messed it all up,” Bernie said quietly, running her finger down the dog’s nose. 

Charlie let out a small whine and licked at Bernie’s fingertips. Bernie pulled them away after a moment in order to tap out her response.

_**probably not. im sorry.**_

~~~

It took Bernie a week to master a new walking route.

There were no other parks nearby, nor were there any decent walking paths, but Bernie found that the local primary school had a nice grassy area with enough room for her to throw tennis balls for Charlie. The school was significantly farther from her home than West Holby Park was and she had to go late in the day after all the children had gone home, but kept the odds of her running into Serena manageably low, which was all that really mattered to Bernie.

Charlie wasn’t as pleased with the new arrangement as Bernie was. Instead of walking first thing in the morning, she was now simply being let out back to relieve herself. This confused her immensely, and she spent the better part of her constitutionals whining and barking loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. When Bernie did finally take her out to walk in the evenings, she tried to pull left towards the park instead of right towards the school.

Bernie chided her. “That’s all over with, Char. She hates me. Probably hates you too by extension. Sorry about that.”

Charlie cocked her head and let out a low whine, but after a week she gave up and started turning right of her own accord.

One evening shortly afterwards, the pair found themselves walking home in a picture-perfect dusk. The sun was setting behind the rooftops, leaving the rest of the sky streaked with brilliant shades of orange and mauve. Bernie dawdled the whole way home, taking deep lungfuls of cool air and watching the play of colors along the horizon. 

She was so wrapped up in the beauty of the evening that it took her a while to register the commotion that was happening at the end of the cul-de-sac, right next to her house.

A young woman, whom Bernie recognized as her neighborhood’s Royal Mail carrier, was standing on the sidewalk in front of Jeremy’s house; the package she had ostensibly been delivering lay dropped and forgotten by her feet. 

Bernie had spoken to her a few times before. Her name was Rabia, she was an immigrant from Afghanistan. Her face had lit up when she found out Bernie spoke broken Pashto, so Bernie always made sure to greet her with a simple _salaam alaikum_ when she saw her. 

There would be no greeting this time however, because Jeremy was standing a few feet away from Rabia, red-faced and wild-eyed, speaking to her in a raised voice.

“-don’t know just how long you’ve been watching me, but it’s over now. Tell whoever sent you to back the hell off, they can’t make me go back there!”

Bernie jogged forward, wincing as her knee complained. “Hey, hey, what’s going on here?”

Jeremy pivoted on the spot. “Stay back Major, this doesn’t concern you. It-” he stopped and stared at her. The look in his eyes was one Bernie had seen before, and it made her instantly feel sick to her stomach.

“Jeremy,” she said quietly, easing forward. “Jeremy it’s alright.”

“You.”.

Bernie nodded. “Yes, it’s just me. Bernie from next door. Major Wolfe, if you like. Just me.” 

She inched forward, putting her hand on Rabia’s arm and guiding her backwards so that Bernie was between her and Jeremy.

“How long?” he asked, still appearing dumbstruck.

“How long what?” 

“How long have you been watching me?” 

Bernie shook her head. “I’m not watching you Jeremy. I’m retired. We both are. We’re both retired here in Holby, about as far away from the war as we can get.”

“You’re lying. You talk to me every day. You’ve been trying to get close to me so you can convince me to go back. Well I won’t. I won’t go back!” he bellowed, reaching into the pocket of his cargo pants and withdrawing a screwdriver.

Rabia let out a small wail and Charlie began barking. 

Bernie calculated the risks she ran simply rushing Jeremy and taking him down. It wasn’t a knife, but a man of Jeremy’s strength could definitely do some damage with just a screwdriver. Additionally, he had at least five stone on her, and her knee was still weak, so overpowering him wasn’t an option. All she could hope for was for him to snap out of it and see reason.

“Jeremy, put that down. You could really hurt someone with that,” she said in measured tones. 

“I’ve hurt people before. I’m good at it. That’s why you lot want me back!” he said, taking a step forward and jamming his finger towards her chest.

Bernie tried to step back but her knee gave out, sending her sprawling backwards. Pain shot from her knee straight to the center of her back, radiating outwards to her skinned wrists and palms.

Her vision went white for a moment, and the shadow of Jeremy loomed over her. When her eyes refocused she could see that he was crying. “You can’t make me go back.”

“Jeremy,” she pleaded.

“You can’t make me go back!” he roared. He raised the screwdriver over his head and Bernie closed her eyes, preparing herself for the worst.

But the blow never came. Instead, Bernie heard a bark followed by a sickening crunch and a scream from Jeremy. 

Her eyes flew open and she saw Jeremy rolling on the ground in front of her, right forearm caught between Charlie’s unyielding jaws. Jeremy twisted and turned on the ground, trying to get away from her, but Charlie held firm just like she’d been taught. Hold them in place, keep them immobilized until your handler tells you to stand down.

Bernie took a shaky breath before issuing the command.“Charlie, release.” She took another few breaths, trying to slow her racing heartbeat.

Charlie did as she was told and moved towards Bernie. After two steps, she faltered and seemed to trip over her own paws. 

It was only then that Bernie realized what exactly had happened while her eyes were closed. 

Though the sunlight was almost gone, she could very clearly see the green plastic screwdriver handle sticking out from the center of Charlie’s chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Bernie's neighbor has a PTSD-related psychotic episode and Charlie gets the business end of a screwdriver (similar to what happened to Fletch in canon).


	6. Repairs

“Serena please, I need you.”

Serena would be lying if she said she hadn't imagined Bernie saying those exact words to her, albeit under extremely different circumstances. 

It had been a long day, and she was eager to get home. Jason was going out to the movies with his girlfriend after his shift ended, so Serena had every intention of spending her evening curled up with a glass of Shiraz and her well-worn anthology of James Herriot stories. At six o'clock sharp she grabbed her purse and her car keys, but before she could bid her colleagues goodbye Bernie staggered through the clinic door carrying Charlie, with a terrified-looking mail carrier following close behind.

Fletch and Raf were up in a flash, taking Charlie out of Bernie’s arms and laying her on a nearby gurney. Serena gasped when she saw that the dog’s fur was matted with blood. There was a small object sticking out of the center of her chest, and she seemed to be having great difficulty breathing.

“Get me X-rays now,” Serena ordered, dropping her handbag onto the reception counter. She moved towards Bernie, who was standing stock still and trembling to an almost violent degree. Serena gently took her by the arm and steered her into a nearby chair. Bernie acquiesced as her adrenaline began to wear off, sinking into the cheap polyester seat and gripping the armrests.

Serena glanced over her shoulder. “If she requires surgery Raf, you’ll perform. I need to see to Miss Wolfe here.”

“No please,” Bernie said, releasing the armrest and clutching at Serena’s sleeve. “I'll be fine. But she, if- can you do it?” she trailed off.

Serena’s heart ached. Bernie had never allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of her, but here she was, blasted wide open with her nerves laid bare to the world.

Serena softened. She knelt in front of Bernie’s chair and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Okay.” 

Without breaking eye contact with Bernie, she called over her shoulder, “Scratch that. If it comes to surgery, Raf will assist. Get those X-rays, I'll be in as soon as I can.”

Raf and Fletch did as instructed, leaving Serena to focus on Bernie. The Major’s breath was coming out in staccato pants, and her skin was milk-pale. Serena squeezed her shoulders in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

“Bernie, you need to tell me what happened.”

Bernie blinked and looked down at her hands, which were scraped and studded with gravel. “My neighbor,” she started, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s not his fault, really. He’s ex-military. He was having a, having an episode. I stepped in and he sort of…” she made a vague hand gesture that meant nothing to Serena. 

“He was trying to attack me,” the mail carrier piped up.

Serena turned, having completely forgotten the other woman’s presence.

“Miss Wolfe saved me,” she continued. “And then the crazy man went after her with a screwdriver, but the dog attacked him and he stabbed it by accident.”

“It’s not his fault,” Bernie said again, voice strengthened by her vehemence. “He’s not crazy, he just needs help. I should have recognized the signs-”

“Bernie, don’t you dare try to blame yourself for this,” Serena said through gritted teeth. 

Bernie looked up at her with dark, watery eyes. “But I-”

“No. What you did was heroic. You are not responsible for other people’s actions. I would lecture you about that further, but I need to go in and see to Charlie.”

Serena straightened herself up and turned to the reception desk, but Jason’s chair was empty. Before she could wonder at his disappearance, he emerged from the back room carrying a set of pastel scrubs.

“I thought Major Bernie would want something to change into, seeing she’s got blood all over her clothes,” he said, setting the scrubs down on on nearby chair. “I also put the kettle on in case she and the mail lady want tea.”

Had she not been so singularly focused on the task at hand, Serena might have gone weepy over her nephew’s display of compassion and cool-headedness. 

As it was, she just nodded and started towards surgery. She paused, remembering Bernie’s fragile state.

_It’s time to be brave, for her._

She returned to Bernie’s side. After a brief moment of hesitation she bent down and placed a soft kiss on the Major’s head. 

“You did the right thing, bringing her here,” she whispered, before heading back to surgery.

~~~

By some approximation of a miracle, the screwdriver had not pierced the heart nor done damage to any major arteries. However it had punctured the right lung, and Charlie was already starting to show signs of a lack of oxygen.

By the time Serena had her on the operating table she’d also lost a lot of blood, despite Bernie having made the correct decision to leave the screwdriver in place. Serena couldn’t help but think about how hard the car ride over must have been for Bernie, holding Charlie in her lap in that state. Not to mention carrying her around, Charlie must have weighed at least six stone and heaven knows what kind of damage that had done to Bernie’s knee. 

Serena shook her head to refocus. Charlie was her patient, not Bernie. 

_Focus, Campbell._

She rarely dealt with pneumothorax procedures, though she had done exceptionally well on them in school. As she made the first incisions she found that there was a certain amount of muscle memory involved, for which she was glad. She was also glad for Fletch, who was in charge of the isoflurane anesthetic and oxygen tubes, and for Raf, who was managing the rib retractor. 

Serena kept watch on Charlie’s vitals out of the corner of her eye as she began to work inside the chest cavity. Charlie’s pulse was thready, and her blood pressure was becoming dangerously low.

“Come on old girl,” Serena murmured. She ghosted the back of her knuckles across the dog’s soft cheek as she reached for her scalpel. “Stay with me Charlie. She needs you, and I need her. You have to work with me here, love.”

It wasn’t immediate, but Charlie’s vitals did begin to improve slightly after that. Though it probably had more to do with Fletch’s deft work of the oxygen, Serena liked the thought of her small plea being partially responsible for the uptick.

The puncture wound was clean, which made it somewhat easy to remove the damaged pleura and clamp off the healthy tissue, forcing self-adhesion. Serena mentally kicked herself for not having kept up on recent technological developments in pleurectomy surgeries, certainly someone had come up with a less invasive technique in the past thirty years. 

However her old school methods were tried and true, and in the end the tissue held firm. By all accounts, the surgery was a success.

With a relieved sigh of thanks to a higher power she didn’t quite believe in, Serena stripped off her gloves and stepped out into the waiting area to tell the Major the good news.

Bernie was curled in a chair, clutching an empty mug and staring off into space. She had changed into the spare scrubs Jason had found, and Serena felt a small bubble of warmth form in her chest at the sight of the macho soldier in canary yellow pants and a lavender top adorned with smiling bunnies. Bernie turned at the sound of the doors and looked up at Serena with enormous childlike eyes.

“She’s stable,” Serena said, giving a tired smile. “The surgery went well, and in time she’ll make a full recovery.

“Can I see her?”

Serena nodded. “She still has a thoracostomy tube down her throat, which she’s going to be on for about 24 hours or so. It may be a little upsetting to see.”

Bernie shook her head. “I don’t care. Just let me see her, please.”

Serena led her back through surgery into the recovery room. Along one wall stood a row of stainless steel kennels intended for smaller animals; their only occupants at the moment were a pair of newly-spayed chihuahua puppies and an elderly diabetic cat named Alf. 

Charlie was on the designated large animals side of the room, laying on a section of cushioned matting and blankets. Fletch had taken an extra blanket and covered her with it, pulling it up to her broad shoulders and tucking her in. She was still in a deep medicated sleep, and her chest rose and fell with each ventilator-assisted breath. 

Bernie’s hand flew to her throat as she crossed the room. When she reached the edge of Charlie’s mat she paused, shuffling around for a moment before looking back up at Serena.

“Serena um, I can’t, I can’t kneel. Would you mind-”

“Of course.”

Serena took both of Bernie’s hands in her own and helped her lower herself to the floor. After a moment’s consideration, Serena sat down beside her.

Bernie reached out a shaking hand and placed it between Charlie’s ears. Only then did she allow herself to cry.

Serena wanted nothing more than to scoop Bernie up in her arms and hold her. She wanted to wipe away her tears and plant kisses all over her face until they stopped falling. She held back though, because she knew this moment was reserved for Bernie and Charlie only. 

Instead, Serena scooted a few feet backwards until she was flush against the wall. She let out a silent sigh, stretching her legs in front of herself and wincing as her joints creaked. She was very grateful to no longer be standing, but she was much too old to be sitting on the floor like this.

She soon lost track of time, but it must have been about twenty minutes before Bernie sat up and took a steadying breath. She looked over her shoulder and gave Serena a halfhearted smile.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, wiping her eyes on her scrub sleeves.

“No need to apologize.”

Bernie gave another smile and scooted backwards so she was sitting against the wall beside Serena. Serena tried very, very hard not to think about just how close she was sitting, because this was neither the time nor place for that line of thinking.

Bernie sniffed and looked down at her hands. Serena was glad to see she had washed them, and it appeared that someone had given her some salve for the scrapes. 

“I just keep thinking,” Bernie said, playing with a loose thread on the scrub pants. “I mean, this is the second time she’s saved my life.

Serena hummed her assent. “She’s a special one.”

Bernie frowned. “Right, but I just...I mean, to have that happen twice,” she took a deep breath and looked away. “I mean, I’m not exactly worth saving, am I?”

Serena’s stomach sank. Bernie couldn’t possibly believe that, could she?

As Serena angled towards her she saw no hint of hyperbole in Bernie’s expression, only sorrow and guilt.

“Don’t you dare say that,” Serena said. “You are the most fantastic, fearless woman I have ever met in my entire life. And to think, if she hadn’t been there to save you…” Serena trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.

Bernie’s eyes searched hers for several moments. Whatever she was looking for she apparently found, because her face smoothed slightly and her lips quirked upwards in a hint of a smile. 

Serena smiled back, relieved that her words had made some kind of an impact.

Bernie’s eyes flicked downwards. Her gaze moved back to Serena’s eyes and then down again in a very familiar way.

_Oh._

_No._

_She couldn’t-_

Serena did not have time to finish this thought because suddenly Bernie’s mouth was on hers and her hands were fisted in her sleeves. 

Before Serena could respond Bernie was pulling back with a frightened expression, as if she was expecting a slap. That simply wouldn’t do.

Serena pulled the other woman towards herself, not quite as gently as she should have, and kissed her back with all of her might.

She didn’t know what would happen after this. Once they left the surreal little bubble they had found themselves in, Bernie could easily run away again. So seeing as this might be her one and only opportunity to kiss the Major, she didn’t hold anything back.

Serena poured everything into that kiss -- the stress of the past few hours, the hurt she had felt from Bernie’s rejection, all the words that had been left unsaid over the course of their friendship. She put everything she had into the kiss, everything she was, everything she would be. It was a kiss that said _I will give you all of myself if only you will let me._

She used one hand to pull Bernie’s chest flush against her own and tangled the other in those deliciously unkempt curls. She ran her tongue along Bernie’s lower lip and made a small noise of surprise when Bernie took it greedily into her own mouth, deepening the kiss and twining her arms around Serena’s neck. Serena felt as if every single nerve ending in her body was alight, as if she was drowning in Bernie with no need for rescue.

The pair finally broke apart when the need for air began to outweigh their other needs. Bernie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Serena’s, taking a number of steadying breaths through her nose. Emboldened, Serena took both of Bernie’s hands in her own and laced their fingers together.

Bernie opened her eyes but made no effort to move away. She smiled shyly at Serena. “Hi,” she whispered.

Serena grinned. “Hi.”

Bernie’s tongue darted out to wet her lips. “That was,” she said, searching for an appropriate adjective. “That was,” she tried again.

She gave a slight head shake and untangled her fingers from Serena’s. If Serena’s forehead hadn’t still been pressed to Bernie’s, she might have been able to see that Bernie’s hands had stopped trembling and were now the steadiest they’d been in a long time. 

Bernie raised her hands to Serena’s jaw, cupping her face with the delicacy one might reserve for a Fabergé egg. She pressed her lips to Serena’s for a short, chaste peck, so unlike the other in intensity yet just as meaningful to Serena. 

Where Serena had tried to fit a novel into their first kiss, Bernie placed a note in the second. A note which simply said _Yes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys know you can watch pneumothorax surgery videos on YouTube? Because you totally can.


	7. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last official chapter, although there will be a oneshot epilogue coming in the next week. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! This started as a dumb crackfic idea but spiraled into becoming my favorite fic I've ever written. You guys are the best.
> 
> (And special thanks to wonderwanda, who is totally allergic to fluff but managed to hold her nose and soldier on betaing this chapter.)

Serena Campbell considered herself a connoisseur of fine wines and liqueurs, but she had never before come across something as decadent and intoxicating as Bernie Wolfe. 

As they kissed time slipped away, as did everything else that was not earnest, bruising lips or curls or the _sinfully_ toned back muscles that could be felt beneath the Major’s thin cotton blouse. Serena couldn’t help but think that if this was what kissing Bernie was like, surely making love to her would be downright lethal. 

This thought, as well as their perfect bubble of intimacy, was eventually broken by a knock at the door. Only then did the pair remember where they were -- sitting on a tile floor next to an unconscious dog in a veterinary clinic in the middle of the night. 

Bernie jumped and made to scoot away, but Serena’s grasp on her hips kept her in place. She had spent so much time not holding Bernie that she was not about to waste a moment of this, not even for propriety’s sake. 

“Come in,” Serena called.

If Morven was surprised to see her boss sitting on the floor in the arms of another woman, her face didn't reveal it.

“Raf’s just leaving, he sent me back to aspirate the thorac tube.”

Serena glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearing on eleven. “Christ, it’s late,” she said, scrubbing a hand across her face. “I need to go let Ellie out.”

“No need,” Morven replied. “Jason called earlier, said he'd fed and walked her at the ‘correct’ time and that they were watching Doctor Who together.”

Serena smiled. Sometimes when it came to Jason she wondered who was really taking care of whom.

Finally acquiescing to practicality, she unwound her arms from Bernie’s lithe frame and stood, wincing as her joints cracked. She turned and offered her hands to Bernie, who took them and managed to lever herself up into a standing position. 

As Bernie righted herself, Serena could see the exhaustion of the day beginning to set in on her. Her shoulders slumped in defiance of her usual ramrod posture, and her eyes were bloodshot and ringed with dark circles.

Serena placed a steadying hand on her arm, half afraid the other woman was about to fall asleep on her feet. “You didn’t drive here, did you?” 

Bernie shook her head. “Rabia, the woman I came here with, she brought us over in the mail van.”

“Alright then, let me take you home. You can stay at mine if you like,” Serena added with a hopeful smile.

Bernie looked down and began to wring her hands in what was now a familiar gesture.

“Ah, here’s the thing,” Bernie began, and Serena’s stomach sank. Was she having second thoughts already? 

Bernie cleared her throat and tucked a rogue lock of hair behind her ear. “I know it’s probably not supposed to be allowed, but would it er- would it be possible for me to stay here for the night?” 

Serena mentally breathed a small sigh of relief. So no second thoughts then, at least not yet.

“It’s just um, I can’t quite leave her just yet,” Bernie continued. “She just, what if she wakes up and I’m not here?”

“She’s on butorphanol, not gonna be waking up anytime soon,” Morven said dryly. “Besides, it’s not a hospital, we don’t have visitor’s cots or anything.”

Bernie shook her head, sending her blond curls flying. “No, I wasn’t expecting anything like that. I’d just kip on the floor. No worse than what we made do with in the army. I’ll be fine, really.” She looked back at Serena with impossibly large doe eyes. “Please,” she said, barely above a whisper.

Serena worried her bottom lip with her teeth. It was unorthodox for sure, and most likely broke some sort of health and safety code. But it would take a heart of stone to say no to that face, especially considering everything Bernie had been through earlier in the day.

She turned to Morven. “How would you like the night off?”

Morven’s eyebrows shot up well towards her hairline. “I’d love it, obviously.”

“Right,” Serena said, clapping her hands together. “You can have it if you do me a favor first.”

“Sure, anything,” Morven replied.

“Go to my house and let yourself into the garage. To the left of the door above Jason’s bicycle is a shelf with some of my wretched ex-husband’s camping kit. Bring back the sleeping bag and the air mattress and the rest of the night is yours.”

“Oh no, Serena you don’t have to do that,” Bernie demurred. “I’ll be fine sleeping on the floor, honestly.”

Serena very much doubted the veracity of that statement, but she let it slide. “Yes, but I won’t,” she replied.

Bernie gave her a quizzical look as she tried to parse the meaning of Serena’s words. When she realized what was being implied, she began to stutter out a refusal. “No no, you don’t, you really don’t have to do that.”

“Yes but I want to. Besides, I’ve already promised Miss Shreve here the night off, and I would hate to disappoint her.”

~~~

Edward loved camping. Not just pitching a tent in a field and getting drunk by a campfire -- his definition of the activity was more along the lines of “getting lost in the forest and doing your business in a hole.”

Serena, on the other hand, loathed camping of any sort. Her idea of “roughing it” was staying in a hotel room with low thread-count sheets. She had never gone with him on any of his trips, always choosing instead to stay at home with a few bottles of Shiraz and her beloved box set of the BBC _Pride and Prejudice_. (She always preferred Colin Firth’s celluloid company to Edward’s flesh and blood presence.) 

Towards the end of their marriage he had begged her to come on a trip with her, even going so far as to purchase what he considered to be the ‘luxury accoutrements’ of a double sleeping bag and queen-sized air mattress. Which had remained unopened, until now.

“I really can’t thank you enough for this,” Bernie said, watching Serena unroll the sleeping bag on top of the air mattress. 

“Yes you can, and you have,” Serena replied, fiddling with the zipper of the bag. 

Bernie gave a soft chuckle. “I’m not sure that’s true, but if you insist.”

“I do. And there we are,” Serena said as she tugged the top layer down to reveal the soft flannel interior. She sat back on her heels and gave Bernie a triumphant smile. “Let’s get you to bed then”

Bernie nodded as a slightly uncomfortable look crossed her face. “Er, Serena, I’m sorry but-”

Serena’s cheeks flamed. “Oh God, I didn’t mean- I just meant sleep.”

Bernie’s eyebrows disappeared beneath her fringe.

“Not that I don’t want to ah, _not sleep_ with you,” Serena added, aiming for a course-correction. “But it’s still sort of early days you see, early hours really, and we’ve both had such a long day...” she trailed off, wincing at her utter tactlessness. 

Open mouth, insert both feet.

Bernie was caught halfway between gaping and smirking, which seemed about the appropriate response to Serena’s apparent verbal incontinence.

“Bugger, I’m sorry. I’ll just go sleep in my office,” Serena muttered, standing and making to leave.

“Serena.” Bernie caught her by the wrist and gently tugged so they were facing each other once more. 

The bile that had been rising in Serena’s throat slowed its progress as Bernie ran her thumb over the veterinarian’s knuckles.

“I knew you didn’t mean anything untoward,” she said with a smile. “I was just going to ask if you would mind helping me down again. My knee is still gone stiff.”

Serena flushed again with embarrassment. “Oh. Of course, of course.”

Bernie leaned forward and brushed her lips against Serena’s. “You are far too sweet for your own good,” she murmured.

Serena bit back a relieved grin, taking both of Bernie’s hands in her own and helping her down onto the makeshift bed. Bernie automatically settled on the right-hand side, close enough to reach out and touch Charlie. This was fine with Serena, who usually slept on the left of the bed. (Well, she did when she was sharing it with someone else. Since the divorce she had become accustomed to stretching out in the middle with her limbs splayed out like a starfish.)

She followed Bernie’s suit, tucking her legs in and scooting down so that they were at eye-level once more. Her movements caused Bernie to bob slightly on her side of the mattress, which made them both giggle.

“Reminds me of the water bed I had back in Uni,” Bernie said.

Serena rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her elbow. “You had a water bed?” she asked incredulously. 

“It was the early eighties, they were still cool then,” Bernie replied, mirroring Serena’s pose.

Serena wrinkled her nose. 

“What’s that look for?” Bernie asked.

“I always thought they were a bit, I dunno, porn-y.”

“Exactly, why do you think I had one?” Bernie replied, eyes twinkling with mirth.

Serena huffed a laugh. 

They lay together in companionable silence for an indeterminate amount of time, the only sound in the room being the soft sighing of Charlie’s ventilator. Under the dim glow of the safety lights, the locks of hair that framed Bernie’s face took on an almost luminescent quality. Her dark eyes were trained upon Serena but seemed a bit distant, as if she was mulling something over.

Early on in their friendship Serena had established a rule for herself, that she would never ask Bernie what she was thinking or prompt her to talk when she didn’t want to. Serena always figured if she had something to say she would say it, and if she didn’t then there was probably a reason for it.

Maybe it was the exhaustion or maybe it was the strangeness of the whole situation, but Serena chose this moment to break that rule.

She reached out and brushed Bernie’s fringe out of her face. “Penny for them.”

Bernie blinked, then looked down with an almost bashful expression. “I’m just...well, honestly I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you-” she gestured up and down in Serena’s direction “would want me.” She repeated the motion in her own direction.

Now that certainly wouldn’t do. 

Serena inched closer, dipping her hand under the cover to rest on Bernie’s waist. “Well, try harder,” she replied warmly. “Because I do. And I have, ever since I first laid eyes on you.” She snorted. “Although considering our first meeting, it would probably be more accurate to say since I first _laid on you_.”

Bernie rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep herself from smiling. “Come here you,” she said, and pulled Serena into a kiss.

Unlike their last kiss, which was all fire and urgency, this was slow, languid. There was nothing that needed to be conveyed, no wordless vows or promises. This was simply Bernie kissing Serena because she wanted to, and Serena kissing her back for the same reason. 

Eventually the kiss began to taper off, devolving into a series of loose-lipped pecks before ending. Serena rested her forehead against Bernie’s and smiled, gently rubbing the tip of her nose against Bernie’s. “Let’s try and get some sleep now, okay?”

Bernie nodded and turned over onto her back, looking over at Charlie.

Serena shifted closer, curling herself into Bernie’s side and resting her head on the other woman’s shoulder. “I’ve set an alarm on my phone, I’ll have to get up and aspirate her tube in about two hours,” she said with a yawn. “I’d say a preemptive sorry for waking you when I do, but I’ll assume you were going to ask me to wake you anyway.”

Bernie smiled and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. “Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything.”

Serena snuggled in closer and tucked her head under Bernie’s chin. “Go to sleep.”

Bernie smiled and settled back, wrapping an arm around Serena’s waist. After a moment, she reached out her other arm and took Charlie’s paw in her hand. 

She fell asleep like this, between the two dearest creatures in her life. 

Her last thought before she succumbed to her own exhaustion, was the realization that each of them had saved her life in their own way.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a schmaltzy little epilogue in honor of Valentine's Day. Not beta-ed, so any mistakes are my own.

Serena wasn’t surprised to find Bernie in the reception area when she came out of surgery. The Major usually stopped by once a week or so to bring Serena and Jason coffee or lunch, and sometimes she would bring the dogs by “because they missed her.” However, Serena was surprised by the fact that the very sight of Bernie, leaning on the counter chatting with Jason while the dogs dozed at her feet, still gave her a warm pang in the center of her chest. She wondered if that would ever change, and simultaneously hoped that it never would. 

It was Ellie who noticed Serena’s entrance first. The spaniel jumped up and gave a small yip, wagging her tail furiously. Charlie thumped her tail against the floor in greeting. 

Bernie turned and gave Serena one of her enigmatic half-smiles. “Now there’s a sight for sore eyes.”

“I could say the same for you,” Serena replied, walking over and giving her a soft kiss. She bent down and scooped up Ellie, resting the now full-grown dog on her hip and allowing her to snuffle and lick at her ear.

Bernie passed her a cup of coffee from Pulses, which Serena immediately took a long draught from. She swallowed and let out a happy sigh. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” she asked.

“You left her a note on the fridge saying it this morning,” Jason interjected, not looking up from his computer monitor. “Is your memory really that bad?”

Serena rolled her eyes as Bernie suppressed a snicker.

“Yes, thank you Jason. We’ll be in my office, go ahead and buzz me when my next appointment comes in.”

“That should be in twenty-three minutes,” he replied. “Thank you for the hot chocolate Auntie Bernie.”

Hearing him call Bernie his Auntie never failed to make Serena beam. She knew it warmed Bernie’s heart as well, though the Major’s poker face was much better than her own.

 

Serena set Ellie down when they reached the office, and the spaniel made an obedient beeline for her pink tufted bed under the desk. Charlie flopped down in the corner with a long-suffering dog sigh.

Bernie placed her Pulses bags on the desk and sat down in one of the visitors chairs, only to have Serena climb into her lap a moment later. Bernie smiled and wrapped her arms around the veterinarian’s slim waist. 

“Long morning?” she asked, planting a kiss on Serena’s shoulder.

Serena nodded, stifling a yawn. “Litter of five kittens, had to fix all of them and do their jabs. And one of them scratched the daylights out of me before he went under.” She held out her left hand, criss-crossed with angry red lines.

“Christ, I’m sorry love.” Bernie took the mangled hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

Serena hummed. “Comes with the territory, I suppose.” 

She curled the fingers of her injured hand under Bernie’s chin and pulled her into a soft, lazy kiss. Bernie still tasted of her own coffee, as well as the strawberry lip balm Serena had insisted she start using. Serena moved her hand to cradle the back of Bernie’s head, burying her fingers in her blond curls. She felt Bernie’s hands begin to drift upwards and sneak under her scrubs top, and she gasped when Bernie softly dragged a fingernail down her spine. She could feel Bernie grin, and as she pulled back she was graced with the Major’s cockiest smile.

“Tease,” Serena muttered.

“It’s only teasing if you don’t intend on following through,” Bernie countered. “And I do intend on following through, several times, just as soon as you get done with your shift.” She gave Serena’s arse a soft pinch, just to emphasize her point.

Serena huffed. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Oh hush, you love it. And me, according to Jason.”

Serena rolled her eyes and turned towards the desk, trying to hide her smile. She saw the Pulses purchases and remembered how hungry she was.

“What did you bring me?” she asked, reaching for one of the bags.

“No, not that one!” Bernie cried, a little too loudly.

Serena furrowed her brow and glanced from Bernie to the bag on the table, which chose that moment to shudder and jerk.

“Bernie, why is my breakfast moving?”

Bernie pressed her forehead to Serena’s shoulder, effectively hiding her face from view. “It’s not. Your breakfast is in the other bag,” she mumbled.

“Alright then, why is _that_ bag moving?” Serena growled.

The blonde made a noncommittal noise.

“Bernie, you didn’t,” Serena whined. “Not again.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Bernie said, fiddling with the hem of Serena’s scrubs. “The dogs found it on our walk this morning. A cat or something got to its mother and littermates, and I couldn’t just leave it.”

“Yes you could have,” Serena replied. “Just like you could have left the sparrow that hit the window last week. Or that blasted three-legged hedgehog.”

“I stand by that one. Fletch’s kids adore Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle,” Bernie said, corners of her mouth teasing at a smile. “Besides, how am I supposed to just leave them, especially when I happen to know the most talented vet in the country?” She reached up and nipped at the corner of Serena’s jaw.

Serena pursed her lips. “Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear Berenice.”

“Well, what if I found a way to make it up to you?” Bernie asked, voice low and full of insinuation.

“You’d better,” Serena replied dryly, standing and opening up the bag. Inside was an impossibly tiny rabbit, no more than two weeks old, curled inside a nest of Pulses napkins.

Serena couldn’t stop herself from cooing at the sight. “Oh you dear little thing, you must have only just opened your eyes.”

Bernie made a sound of victory. “See?”

Serena frowned at Bernie as she lifted the dear little thing in question out of its makeshift nest. “Don’t get too happy with yourself,” she said, turning the rabbit on its back for inspection. “You’re going to be bottle-feeding him every four hours for the next month.”

Bernie’s smile flickered slightly, then she shrugged. “That’s fair. And it’s a ‘he’ then?”

Serena glanced down. “Yes, definitely.” She turned him back over and cradled him to her chest. 

“Oh good,” Bernie replied. “I was hoping that was the case. He looks more like a Peter than a Flopsy or a Mopsy, in my opinion.”

Serena shook her head and stroked a tiny velveteen ear . “Really Major, I think your time babysitting the Fletchlings has made you soft.”

Bernie tucked her hair behind her ears. “Is that such a bad thing? I think I quite like civilian life, actually.” She looked up at Serena with those impossibly big eyes, a shy smile playing at her lips.

“I’d hardly call you a civilian, what with the way you keep playing at heroics,” Serena quipped, nodding at Peter.

“Just trying to keep up with you,” Bernie said with a wry smile. 

She gestured up to Serena’s bulletin board, where three newspaper clippings were tacked on top of several layers of Christmas cards and photos. The first was the original article about Bernie’s accident, which was starting to yellow and fray with age. The second, which was the one Bernie was alluding to, was titled HERO VET SAVES HERO DOG and had a photo of Serena hugging a still-bandaged Charlie. 

The third, of course, was their wedding announcement. 

Jason chose that moment to buzz on the intercom. 

“Auntie Serena, your eleven o'clock is here.”

Serena handed Peter to Bernie, who placed him in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

“Fletch will get you set up with the bottle and formula,” she said, smoothing Bernie’s hair and placing a kiss on her crown. “I’ll try to knock off a little early this afternoon, okay?”

“Okay, see you at home,” Bernie replied.

“Yes,” Serena said, smiling affectionately. “See you at home.”


End file.
